PEIA judge has ordered that a psychiatric evaluation be conducted on the Charlottetown woman accused of murdering her infant daughter, in order to decide whether she can be held criminally responsible for her alleged actions.Lawyer says accused woman Cassie Marie Acorn has ‘cognitive impairments’ Nicola MacLeod · CBC News · Posted: Sep 02, 2025 4:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoCassie Acorn, who was charged with first-degree murder, will undergo a psychiatric evaluation before the court case against her can proceed. (Cassandra Acorn/Facebook)A judge has ordered that a psychiatric evaluation be conducted on the Charlottetown woman accused of murdering her infant daughter, in order to decide whether she can be held criminally responsible for her alleged actions.Cassie Marie Acorn, 40, was charged with first-degree murder in April after her 3-month-old daughter, Winter Elizabeth Rose Acorn, died at the IWK Health Centre in March of this year.Charlottetown Police have previously told CBC News that the child sustained skull fractures that led to swelling and bleeding in the baby’s brain and ultimately caused her death. Acorn has been charged with inflicting those injuries.An official cause of death will be determined by the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service, who are preparing a report that has not yet been handed over.Winter Elizabeth Rose Acorn was three months old when she died in Halifax at the IWK Health Centre, the only dedicated children’s hospital in the Maritimes. (Hennessey Cutcliffe Charlottetown Funeral Home)In the meantime, Acorn’s case has appeared in court from time to time, but it’s always been given a lengthy adjournment as both the prosecution and defence await the results. Acorn is not in jail, after being released with a set of rules she has to follow. ‘Quite a bit of psychiatric evidence’At a court appearance in August, Acorn’s lawyer and legal aid director Thane MacEachern said he has received the rest of the evidence from police.A first-degree murder conviction requires the Crown to prove both that Acorn inflicted the injuries on the baby and that she intended to do it.”The disclosure does indicate quite a bit of psychiatric evidence,” MacEachern told the judge.At another recent appearance, MacEachern said both he and the Crown were asking Chief Provincial Court Judge Jeff Lantz to sign off on a psychiatric evaluation for his client.”This is one where I think there should be a fairly in-depth assessment, including the psychological assessment. There are some cognitive impairments with respect to Ms. Acorn,” MacEachern said.Under the Criminal Code of Canada, people can be found not criminally responsible — or NCR — if it’s determined a mental disorder made it impossible for them to appreciate the nature of the actions in question or know that those actions were wrong.Cassie Acorn, 39, appears in court accused of inflicting fatal injuries on her babyA Charlottetown woman has made her first court appearance on a charge of 1st-degree murder in the death of her 3-month-old daughter, Winter Elizabeth Rose Acorn. A judge of the P.E.I. Supreme Court granted Cassie Acorn a release from custody pending her next appearance, but she has to observe some conditions. CBC’s Tony Davis reports.MacEachern asked the judge to also stipulate that the court wants the psychiatric assessment interview with Acorn to be done in person due to the seriousness of the charge.The justice and health-care systems have been conducting many such assessments virtually in the last few years, but MacEachern said that’s created some issues for accused people in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.”I would hope, even just by the nature of charge, that that would cause them to treat it perhaps more seriously than they might normally and give it due attention it deserves, given the circumstances,” Lantz said.Acorn’s case will be back in court later this month. ABOUT THE AUTHORNicola is a reporter and producer for CBC News in Prince Edward Island. She regularly covers the criminal justice system and also hosted the CBC podcast Good Question P.E.I. She grew up on the Island and is a graduate of St. Thomas University’s journalism program. Got a story? Email nicola.macleod@cbc.caNicola MacLeod on X
Judge orders psychiatric evaluation for Charlottetown woman accused in baby’s death
